This blog follows Andrew and Ian as they adjust to life living in Spain having moved from London in 2016. Buying a property, learning Spanish, cooking, cycling, writing, painting will all be part of the mix. Join them as they explore Andalucia and share their unique perspective on life in this beautiful country.

This morning, we woke up to see that Facebook had reminded us that it was a year ago when we bought our little corner of Andalucia. We’re not sure whether that seems like an age ago, or only yesterday, and so much has happened in the interim period…

When do you know, as a foreigner living abroad, that you feel part of the community in which you live? Our intention, when we arrived here, was to do our best to become part of the Spanish way of life, and feel that this is our home…

Life throws up challenges; it always does, and just because we live in a gorgeous part of the world, and consider ourselves extremely lucky, we still have to make decisions, earn a living and pay the bills…

Carrilladas (Pig’s cheeks) happen to be one of our favourite tapa choices in Granada, and it really is such a simple dish to make. It is also delicious and warming and perfect with a cheesy, creamy helping of gratin dauphinois…

We are already well into October and we haven’t really had time to mark the fact that, as of the 1st October, we have been living in Spain for two years! This past twelve months has absolutely flown by, so it is probably time that the fleeting weeks just started to take things a little more calmly…

Exhausted! That is how we now feel on this Sunday evening as the fiestas draw to a close. We know most village fiestas are just as much of a food and drink marathon, but having been involved this year, with our humble little gallery, we feel that the weekend has been pretty all-consuming…

The Thursday evening of the festival sees the arrival of stalls and stallholders. We have heard so many reports of the thousands of visitors who descend on tiny Moclín during the course of this weekend. On the 5th October, between 10,000 and 15,000 can turn up…

5th October in Moclín is the key date of the Fiesta Cristo del Paño. One of the most important classic religious festivals in Andalucia, Las Fiestas en Honor del Santísimo Cristo del Paño run from the 4th to 7th October, and we thought we’d embrace the opportunity to introduce ourselves properly to our village.

I am sure we all get that Sunday evening feeling from time to time. That feeling when, after a particularly lovely weekend or holiday, the thought of reality just comes along to remind you that life is not one long jolly.

As we mentioned in an earlier post, we are getting married in September. When we got engaged we were adamant that we wanted to be married under Spanish law as we are now residents. This is how we got on…

Last week, we felt extremely privileged to be allowed to go and visit an archaeological dig. We have written recently about the depth of history here in our immediate vicinity, and the sheer scale of the timeline is becoming increasingly hard to comprehend…

August is a favourite time of ours in Granada. Traditionally the month for holidays, many inland-dwelling Spaniards abandon the cities in favour of the cooler coasts. Despite the holidays, paradoxically Granada is alive with music and performance and that is not just limited to the city…